Finland has joined France’s European nuclear deterrence initiative, expanding defence cooperation with Paris while ruling out the stationing of nuclear weapons on Finnish territory in peacetime.
President Alexander Stubb said on Monday that the initiative was intended to strengthen European security, increase Europe’s responsibility for its own defence and reduce the risk of escalation.
Finland and France issued a joint statement confirming the decision after confidential talks at political and official level.
The initiative, launched by French President Emmanuel Macron in March, extends the European dimension of France’s nuclear deterrence. Finland becomes the tenth country to join, alongside Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Greece.
Stubb stressed that Finland would not host nuclear weapons in peacetime.
“There would be no sense in that,” he told reporters. He declined to speculate about possible arrangements during a war.
France will retain full control over its nuclear arsenal and will continue to decide what constitutes a threat to its vital interests. The initiative does not provide participating countries with a French nuclear umbrella or collective defence guarantees.
Finland’s main nuclear deterrence remains based on NATO and the extended deterrence provided by the United States, Stubb said.
The French initiative does not replace Nato’s nuclear deterrence and is not intended to duplicate it.
Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said Finland’s participation would deepen bilateral defence ties with France and strengthen national security.
“The French initiative is different from Nato’s nuclear deterrence,” Häkkänen said in a ministry statement. “The participating countries will not have obligations comparable to Nato’s collective defence.”
France is also not asking participating countries to contribute to the cost of maintaining its nuclear arsenal.
A joint working group will be established to define the practical forms of cooperation. Stubb said the process could last between 10 and 15 years.
Stubb said access to information about French nuclear deterrence was one reason Finland chose to participate.
He also said the involvement of Sweden, Norway and Denmark had influenced Finland’s decision, as the Nordic countries share security interests in northern Europe.
Russia has opposed the French initiative. Asked about Moscow’s likely response to Finland’s participation, Stubb said there was no need to overstate the situation.
“Keep a cool head,” he said.
The decision received broad parliamentary backing, according to Stubb, although the Left Alliance has said it opposes Finland joining the initiative.
The announcement comes as Finland and France expand defence cooperation in other areas. Stubb said France had already committed forces to activities in Finland and that the nuclear deterrence initiative added another element to the relationship.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot are also due to sign a strategic partnership document in Helsinki on Monday.
HT
